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Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, December 8 Headlines: U.S. Donors Pump Millions Into Israeli Settlements Netanyahu Names Yossi Cohen as Next Mossad Chief Toy Story, Intifada Style: 4,000 Anti-Israel Dolls Seized at Customs State Flummoxed Over 11 Year-Old Terrorist Hamas Denied Clinton Remarks that ISIS Visited Gaza Swedish PM: Stabbing Attacks in Israel Not Terrorism Netanyahu: Gas Plan Is Vital to Israel’s Existence Iran Tests Ballistic Missiles, Violating UN Security Council Resolutions Commentary: Ma’ariv: “Excellent Appointment, Needless Drama” By Alon Ben-David, Military Affairs Commentator, Channel 10 Israel Al-Monitor: “How the Islamic State Hurts the Palestinian Cause” By Uri Savir, Honorary President, Peres Center for Peace S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts December 8, 2015 U.S. News U.S. Donors Pump Millions Into Israeli Settlements Private American donors have pumped more than $220 million into Jewish West Bank settlements in recent years through tax-deductible donations, effectively subsidizing a policy opposed by U.S. administrations for decades. Some 50 U.S. nonprofit organizations were raising funds for settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. The money's tax-deductible status means the U.S. government "is incentivizing and indirectly supporting the Israeli settlement movement," even though the US opposes settlement construction as it is an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. See also, “U.S. Donors Gave Settlements Over $220 Million in Tax-Exempt Funds Over Five Years” (Ha'aretz) Ha’aretz Netanyahu Names Yossi Cohen as Next Mossad Chief National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen will be the next head of the Mossad intelligence agency, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday night. Cohen, who has headed the National Security Council since 2013, is a former deputy chief of the Mossad and former head of the organization’s Tzomet division, which operates agents. The term of the current Mossad chief, Tamir Pardo, ends in January, when Cohen takes over. Cohen beat out two senior Mossad veterans for the post. One is former Mossad deputy head Ram Ben-Barak, who is now director general of the intelligence ministry, and the current deputy Mossad head, who can only be identified as “N.” Jerusalem Post Toy Story, Intifada Style: 4,000 Anti-Israel Dolls Seized Custom workers in Haifa thwarted an attempt to smuggle 4,000 anti-Israel stuffed dolls to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank on Tuesday. The dolls, dressed in the Palestinian colors of red, green, black, and white, and in face-covering keffiyehs with the slogans "Jerusalem is ours," and "Jerusalem, here we come" inscribed on them, were found in a container labeled as containing articles of clothing, rugs, and plastic products. The dolls, imported from the United Arab Emirates and en route to the Palestinian Authority, were meant to incite the Palestinian youth. See also, “Rock Holding and Keffiyah Clad Dolls Seized at Haifa Port” (Ynet News) Arutz Sheva State Flummoxed Over 11 Year-Old Terrorist The 11 year-old Palestinian Arab who stabbed a Jerusalem light rail guard in a terror attack last month has been released from hospital and into a state-funded juvenile ward Tuesday, as the government scrambles to find an appropriate way to handle the preteen terrorist. Under Israeli law, the minor does not reach the age of criminal responsibility, which is 12. Over the past two months, Israel has already grappled with the sticky logistical and moral issues regarding teen terrorists from ages 12-14 - and the 120% rise in teen terror - but the issue of a true minor committing a terror attack is a new one. "The state has absolutely no idea what to do with him," the source revealed. See also, “Teenage Presence in Israeli Prison System Up 120%” (Arutz Sheva) 2 Jerusalem Post Hamas Denied Clinton Remarks that ISIS Visited Gaza Hamas condemned Hilary Clinton, the front-runner for the nomination of the Democratic Party, for saying that an Islamic State (ISIS) commander had visited the Gaza Strip. This talk is untrue,” said Hamas representative Ismail Radwan. “We reject these hostile remarks.” Radwan said that Clinton’s remarks were a sign of “complete bias in favor of the Zionist occupation and an attempt to cause confusion, appease the occupation and win the votes of American Jews” in the next U.S. presidential election. Times of Israel Swedish PM: Stabbing Attacks in Israel Not Terrorism Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven further strained his country’s relationship with Israel on Monday, saying he does not consider stabbing attacks in Israel to constitute terrorism. “No, it is not classified as [terrorism],” Lofven said in an interview to the Swedish news agency TT. “There is an international classification regarding what constitutes or does not constitute [terror]. As far as I know, the [knife attacks in Israel] are not defined as terror.” Later in the day, Lofven contacted TT again to clarify his message, fearing what he called a “misunderstanding.” “I meant that it was unclear if the knife attacks are organized by a group classified as a terrorist organization,” Lofven told the agency. “Nonetheless, the attacks themselves do constitute terror.” See also, “Swedish PM: Knife Attacks Are Not Classified as Terrorism” (Ynet News) Ynet News Netanyahu: Gas Plan Is Vital to Israel's Existence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified on Tuesday in front of the Knesset's Finance Committee, defending the government’s natural gas plan. Specifically, Netanyahu was called to defend Clause 52 that enables the government to bypass the anti-trust regular's authority in approving the gas plan. Netanyahu claimed in his testimony that the proposed plan was vital for Israel’s existence, as it would ensure the country's energy security. He disclosed that Israel's power plants were hit in the past by rockets launched by terror organizations, arguing that the development of additional gas fields is necessary to lower the threat on Israel's energy resources. See also, “Impending Natural Gas Deal Angers Many Israelis” (Voice of America) BICOM Iran Tests Ballistic Missiles, Violating UNSC Resolutions Media reports say that Iran has recently conducted two medium-range ballistic missile tests, breaching two United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. Both Reuters and Fox News say that unnamed United States officials told them that the tests took place on 21 November from a known missile-testing site on the Iranian coast near the border with Pakistan. The missile that was tested was apparently the Ghadr-110, which has a range of 1,200 miles, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. In a similar incident in October, Iran’s Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said that the Emad (pillar) precision-guided surface to surface missile had been successfully tested. The rocket has a reported range of just over 1,000 miles and can deliver a 750kg payload to within 500 meters of a target. See also, “Iran Carries Out Another Missile Test in Violation of UN” (Arutz Sheva) 3 Ma’ariv – December 8, 2015 Excellent Appointment, Needless Drama By Alon Ben-David Among three excellent candidates for Mossad director, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose the candidate with the strongest operational record. Yossi Cohen is an operations man in the fullest sense of the word, and this may be a signal that Netanyahu is interested in a more proactive Mossad. It’s difficult to know what took place behind the scenes of the appointment, but it was evident last night that Netanyahu was hard put to make a decision. The ongoing delay of the announcement on the appointment raised a great deal of rumors about pressure that was brought to bear on Netanyahu. Nevertheless, no one will question Cohen’s suitability for the post. His appointment will be met favorably by the Mossad personnel, many of whom expected to see him lead the organization. His leadership and his authority, after the many posts he filled in the Tzomet division and as deputy director of the Mossad, will be accepted without question. The appointment is also not expected to cause the retirement of senior officials, with the possible exception of N., the current deputy director, who was not appointed. Instead, A., the former commander of the Caesarea division, is expected to assume the post of Cohen’s deputy, but besides N., no other division directors are expected to retire. The years in which Cohen commanded the Tzomet division were difficult years for Iran’s nuclear program. In those years, there was a sense that the Mossad’s arm reaches every spot in the Middle East. Iran’s nuclear program in particular suffered from a series of mishaps: scientists were murdered, a computer virus attacked the installations and a great deal of equipment malfunctioned. More than once, the Iranian authorities found suspects held responsible for these actions, and they turned out to be Iranians, who claimed they were handled by the Mossad. Within the organization there is an expectation of refreshment and renewal, and Cohen can lead the Mossad to such renewal. Israel and the Mossad have remained almost alone to monitor the Iranian nuclear program and to be on the alert for violations of the nuclear agreement. Cohen will also be called upon to cope with Islamic terrorism, which is gaining strength and approaching Israel’s borders. He will also serve as Israel’s foreign minister for all those states with which we do not have diplomatic relations. Cohen brings with him to the post fluency in three languages (English, Arabic and French), extensive foreign policy experience that he gained in the past three years, and no less importantly—an intimate relationship with the prime minister.
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